Leveraging Students’ Funds of Knowledge in Chemical Engineering Design Challenges Supports Persistence Intentions

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 99; no. 1; pp. 83 - 91
• Main Authors: Chen, Yan, Kang, Sung “Pil”, James, Jordan O, Chi, Eva, Gomez, Jamie R, Han, Sang M, Datye, Abhaya K, Svihla, Vanessa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 11.01.2022; Division of Chemical Education, Inc; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Academic Persistence; Chemical Education Research; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; College students; Cultural Capital; Design; Design engineering; Diversity; Engineering education; English Language Learners; Ethnic factors; Ethnic Groups; Funds; Gender Differences; Knowledge; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Group Students; Organic Chemistry; Racial Differences; STEM education; Student Attitudes; Student Diversity; Students; Undergraduate Students; First-Year Undergraduate/General; Problem Solving/Decision Making; Applications of Chemistry; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry Education Research; Student-Centered Learning
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00479
• ISSN: 0021-9584

Lower division chemistry and chemical engineering courses commonly emphasize efficient acquisition of core content. While experts perceive the organization of the discipline, students perceive their courses as fragmented. This has a more severe impact on students from groups historically excluded from STEM fields, who may not have a deep understanding of the opportunities that lie on the horizon. In order to make progress on this issue, we first sought to better understand our diverse students’ chemical engineering funds of knowledgethat is, the everyday and cultural experiences salient for chemistry and chemical engineering. We found that minoritized students expressed more funds of knowledge: women expressed STEM interest and past success more than men; students from minoritized racial and ethnic groups and/or who spoke a language other than English at home expressed more community funds of knowledge. We developed design challenges for core chemical engineering courses to build on these varied funds of knowledge. We found no differences between minoritized students and their more privileged peers in terms of their intent to persist. We share implications for both chemistry and chemical engineering courses seeking to support diverse student success.